Far side of the Moon pictured for the first time in Artemis II mission

Astronauts on the Artemis II mission have captured stunning pictures of the far side of the Moon for the first time ever. The photos show Earth gradually disappearing beneath the Moons horizon

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Abigail Hunt Content Editor

14:25, 07 Apr 2026Updated 14:39, 07 Apr 2026

[Nasa captured the incredible pictures]

Nasa captured the incredible pictures(Image: NASA)

Incredible pictures of the far side of the Moon have been captured for the first time.

The White House has released the first photo taken from the far side of the Moon. The stunning NASA pictures, taken aboard the Orion spacecraft, shows Earth gradually disappearing beneath the Moons horizon.

"Humanity, from the other side. First photo from the far side of the Moon. Captured from Orion as Earth dips beyond the lunar horizon," the picture, dated April 6, was captioned on a post on X. It is the first time ever that humans have directly observed the Moons entire far side with their own eyes. The four Artemis 2 astronauts made history on Monday after venturing further into space than any humans have ever gone.

[The Artemis II eclipse]

The Artemis II eclipse(Image: NASA)

The crew were so near the Moon that it appeared about the size of a basketball held at arms length, according to NASA. They were around 252,757 miles from Earth.

NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen captured a series of photos of the Moons rugged terrain, sprawling impact craters and vast, dark plains.

Wiseman, Glover, Koch and Hansen spent hours taking photographs and gathering notes about surface features on the Moon during the flyby. They became the first people to see the lunar far side, which is not visible from Earth.

Astronauts were unable to view much of the Moons far side during Apollo missions because of the paths and timing of their flights. Now, the four Artemis II astronauts have become trailblazers for all of humanity.

[The Artemis II astronauts have made history]

The Artemis II astronauts have made history(Image: NASA/AFP via Getty Images)

Astronaut Glover radioed to Mission Control: Boy, I am loving the terminator. Theres just so much magic in the terminator the islands of light, the valleys that look like black holes. Youd fall straight to the center of the Moon if you stepped in some of those. Its just so visually captivating.

Koch said: When we have that perspective and we compare it to our home of Earth, it just reminds us how much we have in common. Everything we need, Earth provides. And that is somewhat of a miracle and one that you cant truly know until youve had the perspective of the other.

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NASA plans to publicly release the full set of Moon photos taken by the Artemis II astronauts. However, because of downlink limitations, the bulk will not be retrieved and processed until after the astronauts return to Earth.

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